Empathy is an important life skill that must be cultivated from a young age, said T.K. Lilly Grace Deputy Superintendent of Police, Economic Offences Wing, CID, Tiruchi, here on Friday.
She was speaking at the presentation of Justice Shivaraj V. Patil Award for service to humanity, organised by Justice Shivaraj V. Patil Foundation for Social, Legal Studies and Development in Madurai.
“To be empathetic towards the complainant or those who step inside a police station has always been my advice to fellow police officers. Only if we imagine ourselves in their situation, can we approach the issue fairly,” she said.
She added that when one works to uplift the needy, they automatically rise up in life, and such patronage towards the society is essential. Ms. Grace also urged the youth to read more to widen one’s knowledge, which will also “help one be empathetic knowing more about the society.” She emphasised on filling one’s cup first before extending help to others.
The awardees were Cynthia Tiphagne, director-admin and internship coordinator of Madurai-based human rights organisation People’s Watch, Rani Chakravarthy, psychologist and director of Rakshana Child Guidance Centre, Madurai, R. Ruby, psychologist and founder of Nambikkai trust – an NGO working for the rehabilitation of vulnerable children, and D. Tamilselvi, professor of Department of Information of Technology, Thiagarajar College of Engineering.
The citations of the awardee included Ms. Tiphange’s contribution in setting up the first ever short-term shelter for women in distress in Madurai and Ms. Chakravarthy’s work in rehabilitating over 600 differently-abled children into mainstream.
Ms. Ruby’s role as an avid campaigner against alcoholism and working with families of alcoholics and Ms. Tamilselvi’s work in developing a digital virtual-reality device to help children with autism.
Foundation’s Managing Trustee S. Selva Gomathi and others were present.
